"I’ve never heard of it." — Chris Sabo (January 17, 2014)

All Those Years Ago

On October 6, 1995, I was a 20-year-old junior at the University of Evansville. Late in the afternoon, I made the 3+ hour drive from Evansville, Indiana to Cincinnati with my girlfriend (who was also from Cincinnati). When we got to downtown Cincinnati, her parents met me on a street corner so they could take their daughter home.

(Who says chivalry is dead?)

As my girlfriend drove away with her parents, I made my way to Riverfront Stadium to catch Game 3 of the National League Division Series. The Reds were leading the five-game series against the Dodgers 2-0. Thanks to traffic, and dropping off my girlfriend, I missed the first couple of innings of the game, but was able to meet up with my brothers in time to see most of the game.

In case you’re wondering, the Reds won Game 3 and advanced to the NLDS against the Braves. I won’t say what happened in the NLDS against the Braves.

I will say that it’s been 6,210 days since the Reds have won a playoff game. Think about everything that has happened in your life in the last 6,210 days. There’s a chance that someone reading this wasn’t even ALIVE 6,210 days ago.

On October 6, 1995 I had zero nieces and nephews. Today, I have 13 of them. Since that day I graduated from college, moved to Chicago, and married the same girl that I dropped off in the middle of downtown Cincinnati. The Bengals have had 11 different starting quarterbacks since 1995. Van Halen has had three different singers since 1995.

Since 1995 the Reds have only been to the playoffs once—in 2010. I don’t count the one-game playoff loss to the Mets in 1999 (stupid Steve Parris…). Even the Cubs have been to the playoffs (and won more playoff games) than the Reds since October 6, 1995. While I agree that 1908 is a long time to wait since your last World Championship, I’d argue that going 17 years without a single playoff victory is worse.

(And I’m a Bengals fan, so I’m very aware of futility.)

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that hopefully this stretch will be over with soon. Preferably tonight. The 2010 Cincinnati Reds were a young, inexperienced team that had never been to the playoffs before. The 2012 Cincinnati Reds team are slight older, slightly more experienced, and have been to the playoffs (and got swept in the first round).

Anything can happen in the playoffs. Teams with the best record lose in the first round, teams with the worst record win the World Series. That’s what makes the post-season so much fun. But this year, let’s hope that the team with the 2nd best record in baseball wins the World Series.